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Editor's Corner: ICE makes weak limited source justification for Verizon Also Noted: Europe could follow United States in freeing up more 5GHz spectrum for future Wi-Fi needs; DoD puts a price tag on exiting spectrum; and much more...  Follow @fiercegovit on Twitter
More News From the FierceMobileGovernment Network:
1. DOE develops better sensors through wireless
2. More tweets correlates to congressional election wins, says paper
3. Obama proposes legislative tweaks to bulk surveillance
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ICE makes weak limited source justification for Verizon
 Wireless carriers make a lot of claims. A favorite of Verizon Wireless, in particular, is to tout its "largest high-speed wireless network" in the country.
A quick look at OpenSignal.com's coverage map shows it may, truly, cover the United States the best. But in many major cities, such as New York, Atlanta, San Diego and Seattle, Sprint and AT&T appear to provide just as much coverage. On July 23, Immigration and Customs Enforcement awarded Cellco Partnership/Verizon Wireless a task order for voice, voice data, wireless data and mobile broadband services. And the agency's Aug. 5 limited sources justification (.pdf) probably has Verizon clamoring to bundle it in to its marketing materials. According to the justification, when compared with AT&T and Sprint, ICE's research found that Verizon provided the best coverage. ICE's "Special Agent in Charge Areas of Responsibility" under the task order are Atlanta, Newark, New York, Tampa, Buffalo, San Diego, St. Paul, El Paso, Denver and Seattle. "The government compared the coverage maps of each of the providers, and surveyed the prices listed on each contractor's GSA schedule," writes ICE. "Verizon Wireless has a history of providing strong coverage for the 10 SAC AOR regions in this requirement." It would be tough to say that coverage in the listed cities really favor Verizon so much over other carriers. The claimed reliance on Verizon continues into another portion of the justification. ICE also says the devices currently deployed are unique to Verizon, so changing a carrier would require changing devices, making the switch too costly. The time to deploy new devices and a new mobile device management system to support a wider variety of devices would interrupt officer capabilities, says the justification. The agency may have doubts about the strength of it's own argument, however. ICE notes that the limited-competition award is a temporary solution until the Homeland Security Department's strategic sourcing vehicle becomes available. The agency also says it plans to consolidate and compete requirements in the near future. If the DHS BPA isn't available soon it may instead use the General Services Administration's Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative wireless BPA. - Molly |
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Today's Top News 1. FEMA app can crowdsource disaster photos
 A crowdsourcing feature in the official Federal Emergency Management Agency mobile application allows users to submit photos of disasters.
Through the feature, called Disaster Reporter, FEMA screens submitted images to make sure that they're appropriate and don't violate any privacy issues. Approved images go on a map that FEMA maintains online. The FEMA app is available for Android, Apple and BlackBerry devices, but the crowdsourcing feature is currently only included in the Android app. FEMA plans to add it to the other versions in the future.
FEMA has also provided an application programming interface, or API, for developers to make use of the submissions.
Craig Fugate, the head of FEMA, introduced the app in a video posted to the agency's official blog on Aug. 2. "Oftentimes, you're the first one there. You're going to have the best information. We wanted to give you a way to share that," he said.
People have asked FEMA how they can share what they see after disasters, Fugate noted. "We've really not had that ability."
Users have to give the app permission to track their location for mapping purposes.
Fugate noted that the app isn't a way to contact authorities during emergencies and doesn't replace 9-1-1. He also encouraged potential users to download it before disaster strikes, as part of their personal readiness plans.
For more:
- go to the Disaster Reporter webpage
- go to the FEMA blog post
Related Articles:
Army Corps of Engineers to use mobile app for Isaac relief
Berkowitz: Government should tap private sector apps in emergencies
Mobility central to FEMA's mission, deputy CAO says Read more about: Craig Fugate, government apps
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2. DISA guided Samsung Knox development
 Rather than customize commercial technology already on the market to meet Defense Department acquisition needs, the Defense Information Systems Agency recently guided the development of a commercial technology so it suited DoD security precisely, said Mark Orndorff, program executive officer for mission assurance and network operations at DISA.
As Samsung developed Knox--the company's new platform security, application security and mobile device management tool--the company met reguarly with DISA. The product's development was influenced by the security requirement guide developed by DISA's field security operations team, said Orndorff while speaking Aug. 9 at the Forecast to Industry event at DISA headquarters in Ft. Meade, Md. "Security approvals are done before market release, that's the objective," said Orndorff. "I think it's huge. It's a better approach to security, it's faster, it's cheaper. It checks all the right blocks," he added. Samsung pre-released Knox last week, but DISA gave approval for its use by DoD users much earlier, said Orndorff. On May 2, DISA approved security technical implementation guides that opened DoD's doors to devices using Samsung's Knox. The STIG approval allows the devices broadly, eliminating the need for security reviews at the individual organization level. The recently-launched Samsung Galaxy S4 is its first smartphone using Knox. "Going forward, Samsung's premium smartphones and tablets will feature Samsung Knox," said Samsung in a statement. For more:
- download presentation slides from the event (.pdf) Related Articles:
DISA to leverage NSA's big data capabilities for Acropolis
DISA building out enterprise services cloud
DoD aims to speed up mobile approval process Read more about: Samsung Knox, Mark Orndorff
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3. ROI makes it tough to move beyond mobility pilots
 One year ago the Defense Department had 70 to 80 mobility pilots underway testing apps, security tools and devices, said Brian Teeple, principal director for the deputy chief information officer for command, control, communication and computer at DoD.
Piloting mobile technology has been a common approach at agencies, but success moving mobile programs past the pilot stage has been problematic for some agencies. Assessing pilots and measuring return on investment can be difficult. "It's more challenging when you get down to the application level, then you're really measuring the capability that you're getting," said Teeple Aug. 8 during AFCEA Bethesda's Mobility Technology Symposium in Washington, D.C. While on the tactical side it's more about capability, on it can be easier to monetize at the enterprise level--going to tablets instead of laptops or cutting into travel costs, he said. Measuring a productivity or capability gain is difficult for smaller agencies as well, said Sanjay Sardar, chief information officer of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. "We have to prove a gain, a financial gain, or reduce something somewhere else. That's a huge challenge," said Sardar. "A lot of small agencies are saying, when someone comes in with a mobile solution, 'show me where the offsets are. Show me how to get more or get greater capability,'" said Sardar. "Small agencies as a general rule will say, 'show me that.'" Related Articles:
VA mobility pilots to get new user agreements
VA using portion of MDM for iOS, Android pilots, not BYOD
DHS to pilot one-stop shop for public app testing and certification Read more about: ROI, DoD
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4. DoD aims to speed up mobile approval process
The Defense Department will partner with industry to streamline the review and approval processes for mobile apps and devices, slides (.pdf) from a presentation at the Aug. 9 Defense Information Systems Agency Forecast to Industry conference said. The goal is for apps and devices to be reviewed and approved within 30 days by coordinating with industry so vendors are building to DoD standards, Defense Information Systems Agency Component Acquisition Executive Jennifer Carter said in her slide presentation. Then DoD can verify those standards rather than having to test the technology itself, Carter said. Carter wants the DoD to partner with industry before the products are released so when the products end up being released the DoD can simply buy them rather than wait for the product to mature and be proven. Industry must take their own steps though, by building security into products and supporting mobile Security Requirements Guidelines by developing mobile Security Technical Implementation Guides in alignment with National Security Agency protection profiles, Carter said. Industry must also continue to develop Enabled Secure Mobile Applications, she said. But speeding the review and approval process will require accepting more risks, Carter said. New technology may not work perfectly as soon as it's adopted, Carter said. Mobile users may have to wait to get newer devices or capabilities while DISA works out the kinks. For more:
- download the DISA presentation slides (.pdf) Related Articles:
DISA: DoD's MDM, app store procurement in source selection
DoD seeks MDM, app store
GSA identifies MDM, MAM vendors with Managed Mobility program Read more about: DoD, DISA
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5. Addressing the connectivity challenge in disaster response
 Working in an area affected by a disaster means connectivity can be a challenge. Cells on wheels and light trucks only go so far to re-establish connectivity, said Karole Johns, program manager for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster assistance improvement program.
This connectivity problem stymies mobile innovation for disaster response, Johns said Aug. 8 during AFCEA Bethesda's Mobility Technology Symposium in Washington, D.C. Land mobile radio has a higher survivability rate than commercial infrastructure, said Rear Admiral Ronald Hewitt, director of the Homeland Security Department's office of emergency communications. But mobile progress is not happening over LMR infrastructure the way it is on commercial networks. Lost connectivity during Super Storm Sandy led FEMA to take on a new project to address the issue. It's developing a mobile application for FEMA field employees to collect data offline. "While that initially sounds really easy, securing that data on an iPhone or iPad when it's someone else's data an making sure that it is secure and encrypted on the device until it gets transferred up to the system for processing, then erasing it from the device or even protecting it to the point of destruction should the device be lost or stolen," said Johns. She added that FEMA hopes to have the app up and running for employees in about 4 months. Related Articles:
FEMA app can crowdsource disaster photos
Army Corps of Engineers to use mobile app for Isaac relief
Berkowitz: Government should tap private sector apps in emergencies Read more about: AFCEA Bethesda, Karole Johns
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Also Noted > BlackBerry first to secure DoD device management approval. Article (ZDNet)
> The future of government mobility. Article (FCW)
> There's apps in them thar hills. Article (Nextgov)
> Europe could follow United States in freeing up more 5GHz spectrum for future Wi-Fi needs. Article (Gigaom)
> DoD puts a price tag on exiting spectrum. Article (The Register) And Finally… Watch a nuclear family explain the Internet in 1997. Post (The Daily Dot) > Webinar: Federal cloud computing adoption, a look back and forward - Sept. 10, 2 PM ET / 11 AM PT When adopting cloud computing, federal agencies can chose to adopt public, private or hybrid options. During this webinar, we'll discuss real examples of how federal agencies have handled cloud computing. Register now.
| > 930gov Strategic IT Buying at Year-End Tradeshow - August 21, 2013 - Washington D.C. Announcing a new one-day, information-packed IT tradeshow designed to make the year-end buying season more productive for federal agencies and the government IT contractors who serve them. Free for government to attend; produced by Digital Government Institute. Learn more www.930gov.com. > Predictive Analytics World - September 29-October 3 - Boston, Massachusetts Predictive Analytics World Boston is packed with the top predictive analytics experts, practitioners, authors and business thought leaders and focuses on concrete examples of deployed predictive analytics. Register or learn more! | ©2013 FierceMarkets This email was sent to ignoble.experiment@arconati.us as part of the FierceMobileGovernment email list which is administered by FierceMarkets, 1900 L Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 628-8778.
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